Corruption case with humble beginnings roils city

Published 10:34 pm, Sunday, April 24, 2016

Photo: Richard Drew

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

FILE- In this May 28, 2013, file photo, Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, addresses a news conference in New York. A series of loosely related public corruption investigations which Bharara coordinated have spilled into public view. Targets include high-ranking New York Police Department officials, the union representing New York City jail guards, and the political fundraising activities of several people with ties to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) ORG XMIT: NYR401 less

FILE- In this May 28, 2013, file photo, Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, addresses a news conference in New York. A series of loosely related public corruption investigations ... more

Photo: Richard Drew

Corruption case with humble beginnings roils city

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

New York

After a successful attack on corruption in New York's state government, the hard-charging federal prosecutor in Manhattan appears to have set his sights on New York City.

Over the past few weeks, a series of loosely related public corruption investigations coordinated by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara have spilled into public view, with targets including high-ranking New York Police Department officials, the union representing city jail guards, and the political fundraising activities of several people with ties to New York City's mayor.

Already an embarrassment to the nation's largest police department, it remains unclear whether the widening probes could do damage to City Hall.

So far, nine police officials, including four deputy chiefs, have been transferred or stripped of their guns and badges as internal affairs detectives and FBI agents examine whether officers accepted gifts and trips from businessmen in exchange for police escorts, special parking privileges and other favors.

And in recent weeks, the evolving probe has turned to campaign financing practices.

An animal welfare group that has been lobbying Mayor Bill de Blasio to ban carriage horses from city streets confirmed Friday that it had received a subpoena from federal prosecutors seeking documents related to its fundraising efforts for a nonprofit group created to advance the mayor's policy agenda.

After a criminal referral to prosecutors from the state Board of Elections office, other subpoenas sought records related to hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations solicited by the mayor's campaign that were rerouted to upstate Democrats running for the state Senate.

Separately, federal agents operated a wiretap that captured the conversations of two businessmen, Jona Rechnitz and Jeremy Reichberg, who were friends with two top police officials and served on de Blasio's inaugural committee in 2013 and contributed to his campaign, two law enforcement officials said.

Investigators want to know whether they have been offered any favors in exchange for donations, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anony-mity because they weren't authorized to discuss an ongoing case.

De Blasio, a Democrat, has not been accused of any specific wrongdoing and his campaign organization has said it operated within the laws. His campaign lawyer, Laurence Laufer, on Sunday wrote a letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press, to the Board of Elections, accusing the group of selective, politically-motivated enforcement and leaking confidential investigative material to the media.

The developments have created the perception that a city that was thought to have rid itself of everyday corruption might be slipping back into the bad old days.